On February 23, 2023, the Richmond News published a letter to the editor by CJPME’s President Thomas Woodley about the strong opposition in civil society to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which conflates antisemitism with criticism and protest of Israel.
The following is an excerpt from the letter:
In fact, the main issue with the [IHRA] definition are the 11 “examples” provided with the definition, seven of which focus on the state of Israel rather than on Jews as a group.
The definition, with its examples, disserves Jews because it conflates real antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
And it disserves Palestinians and Palestinian-Canadians because it smears them as antisemites for sharing their stories of dispossession at the hands of Israel and Zionism.
It is for this reason that the BC Civil Liberties Association, Independent Jewish Voices and many other civil liberties groups are so concerned about the IHRA definition.